The Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld an award of summary judgment in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas entered on behalf an insurance broker represented by Burns White amidst allegations of breach of contract and fraud. The appellant’s insurance company rejected a fire damage claim brought by the appellant and the appellant filed suit against his insurance broker and insurance company. The appellant alleged damages upwards of $1 million as a result of a fire at a large commercial building.
Burns White Attorney Nichole E. Humes originally argued the matter in the Court of Common Pleas and recently argued to uphold the trial court’s findings before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the case finding that the appellant could not maintain a lawsuit against the insurance broker for breach of an oral contract where appellant alleged that the insurance broker orally agreed to add him as an additional insured on an unrelated third party’s insurance policy. The Superior Court further found that the appellant was not considered an insured under the insurance policy and that the policy did not cover the damages caused by the fire.
Note: The results obtained in a particular case are, of course, always heavily dependent on the facts and the law specific to that case.